JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP — Students at the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School received a crash course on lessons of life this week.

The three-day event concluded Friday as various companies throughout the county helped students spend a day in the life of an adult.

The first step in the process was to determine their career. Without knowing what the salary was, students chose their dream job from a list. The students, who were given an age of 25, were told their spouse was actively looking for work, but they were the sole provider for the family.

The students then learned how much their salary was. Then they rolled the dice, literally, to determine how many children they would have. The goal was to try and live within their means, while budgeting for all the necessities in life.

Taxes were deducted from their salaries and the students were given credit card debt as well. The students then had to visit the various companies to take care of important things such as buying a car and insurance, buying or renting a home, paying utilities, paying their credit card debt, and buying food and clothing for their families.

Students learned check writing skills and deducted their expenses after each purchase or transaction.

“They’re learning a lot about reality,” said Anne Starcher, ACJVS career education coordinator. “We’re trying to help them realize education makes a difference in their future and they have a lot of choices.”

Starcher said Reality Day did not give the students a lot of choices, but the goal was to help them realize they will have a lot of choices about their future.

“Some are already saying ‘I’m going to get a better job,’” said Kay Roller, ACJVS career education coordinator. “A lot are saying child care is what makes them go under.”

Students wrote checks to Wal-Mart for clothing, purchased a car from Nassief in Jefferson, purchased car insurance from Glazier Insurance in Jefferson, and purchased or rented a home from Prudential Realty. Ashtabula County School Employees Credit Union donated checkbooks for the students. Representatives from Huntington Bank in Jefferson talked to students about loans for college.

Students also decided how much to donate to the United Way for charity. Members of the 4-H club were also represented as well as the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department, who was issuing citations if students failed to purchase car insurance after they bought a car and also if students did not have their school identification card with them, which served as their driver’s license.

Katie Conroy of Conneaut said the event was fun. She said Reality Day taught her that money goes fast and the exercise will help her in the future. Conroy was fortunate to have money left over. She said the key to her success in managing her budget was that she didn’t have any kids.

Anthony Boyd said the event taught him to try and keep is money instead of spending it on junk food. He said the most difficult part was renting a home. Boyd said he had to rent a two-bedroom instead of a one-bedroom, which was more expensive.

Josh Asmus, of Andover, chose a career as an executive chef. Asmus is studying food service at the Vo-Ed. He said he learned a lot from the experience.

“It helped me see what to expect when I graduate from school and get out of college,” he said. “Stuff is more expensive than you think it is.”